The slow-witted can learn to think.

It's possible to teach many Alzheimer patients to think. Effectively. At least, I tried it. With dear Jeanne. And it worked. Even after she went into the nursing home. By encouraging her to focus. On one thing. One thing only. I explained to her. Slowly. And repeatedly. That her mind was like a single railroad track. Built for one train only. One train at a time. Not two. Not three. One. One. One. Her train was a thought. A single thought. Maybe it was to eat lunch. To be fed. To take in food. One bite at a time. Whatever we were focused on at the moment. Keep the track/the mind clear of everything else. Because that would be distracting. In essence, I was asking Jeanne to wear blinders. Anyway, that's why I had Jeanne eat in her room. Away from the noisy congregate dining area. Because the dining room was full of distractions. Like multiple trains on a track. Posing danger. Collision. Chaos. Confusion. That's how, if I were a teacher, I'd teach slow-witted teen-agers to think. To focus on one thought at a time. To wear blinders. The kind of blinders they put on a race horse. So that the horse only looks straight ahead. Not to the sides. --Jim Broede